The bad news: coal burning as a means to generate power is less than ideal for the planet.  The good news: it would appear a solution looms imminently on the horizon.  Work is currently being undertaken into the process of ‘carbon capture and storage’ – a process which will siphon off CO2 emissions from existing fossil fuel power plants, before they have the chance to escape into the atmosphere, and contribute further to global warming.

The work is in its infant stages at present, and will not be commercially viable for some years yet.  Not quite time to ditch the solar panels, perhaps.  However, the excitement over this developmental technology is easy to understand: put simply, it would mean the overwhelming majority of pollution from fossil fuel (coal/gas) burning plants could be captured, and stored, safely.  Not a pipe dream, but a definite possibility, it seems.

For a genuinely innovative and educational introduction to this technology, you could do a lot worse than check out Scottish Power’s ‘CCS TV’.

What becomes abundantly clear, if you sign up to any of a plethora of available online CSR newsletters or bulletins, is that this is big business: a fairly new, and growing satellite industry, one might say. In fact, you could probably fill your calendar, from the January sales right through to the office Christmas party, by global CSR event-hopping. Not convinced? Well, if we had said yes to less than half the events mentioned in that email, we would be signing off on a round-trip touching London, Bucharest, Cape Town, and Amsterdam. So much for concerns over carbon, eh?

Some of these gatherings are free, and do look discernibly genuine. Others look less so, on both counts. From our experience, many turn out to be merely business development opportunities, rather than legitimate conventions for CSR. We are also reminded of the many ‘awards’ that have appeared over the last few years. Digging a little investigative ground on a proportion of these accolades revealed them to be nothing more than advertorial, masquerading as best-in-sector prestige. Whilst not wishing to denigrate the industry as a whole (we have been to many a stimulating seminar), clearly there is a need to select the greener fruit from the CSR tree.

Mr O’Leary may have his critics in the media, and indeed within the aviation industry – he is undoubtedly a forthright individual.   However, none can knock his achievement of making Ryanair a standout success story, in a sector with few current reasons to cheer.  O’Leary’s rather unorthodox approach to the budget business model, despite its numerous detractors, works.  O’Leary can also claim [for good or bad] that his company’s operational approach is well ingrained in the public conscious.  For those of you who have not experienced a Ryanair flight, it may reasonably be described as a cheap, soft seat, and a lot of extra, hard sell.

Let’s turn to the CSR angle.  Traditionally you would expect some form of downloadable report, discussing CSR issues pertinent to the business’ model and sector.   Ryanair’s website houses just a short page of text, discussing the environmental credentials of the business, under the tagline ‘Europe’s Greenest Airline’ (owing to its investment in the latest available aircraft).  A little minimalist, perhaps.  They might wish to consider adding a discussion of, say, the company’s approach to alternate fuels; issues of fair contractual employment (O’Leary apparently “refuses to recognise” trade unions, and insists on staff supplying their own uniforms); strategies in place for maintaining an ethical supply chain?

What the company does have is a very transparent sales operation.  It is there unashamedly to get passengers onboard, and continue the selling well beyond the check-in gates.  And in being clear about its approach, Ryanair is in fact demonstrating it is a socially responsible entity – albeit in a slightly unconventional sense.  One could argue that, in contrast to a number of other airlines, Ryanair fares better for its direct business objectives.  We know what it’s about when we step on the plane.  In the words of Michael: “our strategy is like Wal-Mart: we pile it high and sell it cheap”.

The business has, however, been the recipient of criticism concerning its supply chain, – specifically the working conditions of a number of its suppliers.  A quick survey of the company’s website shows that the organisation has begun to make efforts to address this in its communications.  For example, there is discussion of the issue of ethical trading, and what exactly this means to the business in practice.

The question now seems to be: what next?  Perhaps Primark might wish to proceed further in its strategy and reporting, and come up with its own ‘Plan A’ approach to CSR?

Traditionally, fund managers have been (and, of course, still are) legally tasked with an overriding ‘fiduciary responsibility’: to maximise financial return for their clients.  Increasingly, fund managers and the wider investor universe are acknowledging that, embedded within the notion of sound returns, lies the idea that responsible investment and profitable investment do mix.

Whatever the future, it is clear that a key consideration of successful investing will focus on the subject of company ‘responsibility’.  Thus, those organisations choosing to openly embrace this, via transparent/factual periodic reporting, and a genuine desire to evolve for the better, will be the big winners.  Those companies either not ready or not willing to embrace this future may find themselves economically disadvantaged, if not immediately, then in the medium to long term.

An article appearing in today’s ‘Times Online’ unveils the outcome of a recent race discrimination case, concerning a well known consumer products company.

The decision of the court may affect brand value, and highlights the often complex issues large businesses face in managing their reputation.

Many organisations now readily acknowledge the benefits of adopting comprehensive CSR strategies and policies, and of effectively communicating these to all interested stakeholders.  This is particularly pertinent to companies with a large retail customer base.  In these instances, the ‘perceived brand image’ is obviously extremely important, and is a significant element of sales volume and pricing.

What seems apparent from this example is simply that, for an organisation to effectively manage its risk and opportunities in this area, all facets of the company must be in harmony with its CSR policy and strategy.  One episode of this sort can significantly undermine a host of other initiatives (CSR reports, stakeholder communications exercises, brand building and advertising campaigns) and put the company right back to square one.